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chigger

 - 9 dictionary results

chig⋅ger

  [chig-er]
Use chigger in a Sentence
–noun
1. Also called harvest mite, redbug. the six-legged larva of a mite of the family Trombiculidae, parasitic on humans and other vertebrates, sucking blood and causing severe itching and acting as a vector of scrub typhus and other infectious diseases.
2. chigoe.
Also, jigger.

Origin:
1735–45, Americanism; var. of chigoe

chig⋅oe

  [chig-oh]
–noun
a flea, Tunga penetrans, of tropical America and Africa, the impregnated female of which embeds itself in the skin, esp. of the feet, of humans and animals and becomes greatly distended with eggs.
Also called chigoe flea, chigger, jigger, sand flea.

Origin:
1685–95; < Carib
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To chigger
chig·ger   (chĭg'ər)   
n.  

  1. Any of various small, six-legged larvae of mites of the family Trombiculidae, parasitic on insects, humans, and other vertebrates. The chigger's bite produces a wheal that is usually accompanied by severe itching. Also called chigoe, harvest bug, harvest mite, jigger2, red bug.

  2. See chigoe.


[Alteration of chigoe.]
chig·oe   (chĭg'ō, chē'gō)   
n.  

  1. A small tropical flea (Tunga penetrans), the fertilized female of which burrows under the skin of animals and humans, causing intense irritation and sores that may become severely infected. Also called chigger, jigger2, sand flea.

  2. See chigger.


[Possibly from Galibi chico or of African origin; see jigger2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

chigger 
1756, from W.Indies chigoe (1668), possibly from Carib, or of African origin (cf. Wolof and Yoruba jiga "insect").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: chig·ger
Pronunciation: 'chig-&r, 'jig-
Function: noun
1 : CHIGOE1
2 : a 6-legged mite larva of the family Trombiculidae that sucks the blood of vertebrates and causes intense irritation

Main Entry: chi·goe
Pronunciation: 'chig-(")O, 'chE-(")gO
Function: noun
1 : a tropical flea belonging to the genus Tunga (T.penetrans) of which the fertile female causes great discomfort by burrowing under the skin called also chigger, sand flea
2 : CHIGGER 2
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

chigger (chĭg'ər)
n.

  1. The six-legged larva of mites of the family Trombiculidae, parasitic on humans and other vertebrates and inflicting a bite that produces a wheal accompanied by intense itching. Also called harvest bug, harvest mite, jigger, red bug.

  2. Chigoe.

chigoe chig·oe (chĭg'ō)
n.
A small tropical flea (Tunga penetrans) the fertilized female of which burrows under the skin, frequently under the toenails, causing intense irritation and sores that may become severely infected. Also called , jigger2, sand flea.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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